ERIC CANTONA once famously derided France captain Didier Deschamps as a “water carrier” – a view that didn’t change, not even after the diminutive midfielder lifted the World Cup in Paris in 1998.

What the former Manchester United player didn’t realise at the time was that Deschamps and Claude Makelele – his successor as skipper in an all-conquering French side – very much represented the future of football.

And while England squabbled over whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard could play together, the rest

of the world moved on.

Both are still in the squad for this summer’s European Championships – indeed, Gerrard will captain Roy Hodgson’s side in Ukraine and Poland – but the team no longer revolves around either of them.

Instead, it is Scott Parker who acts as England’s fulcrum.

When Makelele left Real Madrid in 2003, Zinedine Zidane claimed that his departure resulted in the club losing their “entire engine”.

One thing Scott Parker does is enable England to keep the ball,

English skills guru Alf Galustian

It’s surely no coincidence that Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea celebrated their first top-flight title since 1955 just two years after Makelele’s arrival.

It’s no coincidence either that a far more solid-looking England breezed through qualification for Euro 2012 with Parker anchoring the midfield, and providing a reassuring presence in front of the back four that was sadly lacking at the 2010 World Cup.

His fitness has been a worry for England since an Achilles tendon injury hindered his involvement in Spurs’ Premier League run-in.

If he misses the championship, England’s chances may suffer a fatal blow.

English skills guru Alf Galustian has worked with Mourinho at Real Madrid and with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, and he believes England will be found out without the holding abilities of the former West Ham man.

“One thing Scott Parker does is enable England to keep the ball,” said Galustian.

“It’s crucial that he’s fit because he is so disciplined.

“He could easily be an attacking midfield player, and in his early career he was, but he’s just such a disciplined person that he can play with restraint. He’s one of the top holding midfielders in the world.”

By common consent, the best is Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, who will again play a crucial role if holders Spain are to retain their crown.

But even he played second fiddle to Parker at Wembley last November.

Parker’s man-of-the-match display nullified Spain’s attacking threat and, despite Vicente del Bosque’s side enjoying the lion’s share of possession, it was the discipline Galustian referred to that ensured a famous win for Fabio Capello in his penultimate match in charge.

It was the sort of display so sadly lacking during a dismal World Cup showing just 17 months earlier.

Alan Curbishley, who managed Parker at Charlton, said: “England have been crying out for a defensive holding midfield player, especially in South Africa.

“I know quite a lot of the defenders wanted a player in that role.”

With Xabi Alonso alongside Busquets, Spain have demonstrated that holding midfielders can be valuable attacking weapons as well as crucial defensive ones.

They conceded just two goals on the way to their first World Cup triumph and Busquets must take a huge amount of the credit for that.

“He’s the finest holding midfi elder in the world,” said Galustian.

“If Spain can’t go forward they’ll give the ball to him because they know he’ll get them started again.”